John Barry James Bond Composer Dies at 77 (Listen!)

The renowned James Bond composer John Barry passed away on Sunday in New York at the age of 77. The family’s announcement of his death stated that he died of a heart attack.

John Barry is known for some of the most iconic movie soundtracks of our time – some of which include Midnight Cowboy, Out of Africa, Dancing with Wolves and Midnight Cowboys. He won Oscars for all of them.

His work with the James Bond franchise was a long one – he worked on 11 bond movies:

Dr. No (1962)

From Russia with Love (1963)

Goldfinger (1964)

Thunderball (1965)

You Only Live Twice (1967)

On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969)

Diamonds are Forever (1971)

The Man with the Golden Gun (1974)

Moonraker (1979)

Octopussy (1983)

A View to a Kill (1985)

The Living Daylights (1987)

Here is a clip of his Greatest Hits:

David Arnold, longtime friend and collaborator posted this message on Twitter:

“”I am profoundly saddened by the news but profoundly thankful for everything he did for music and for me personally.”

In the statement released by his family they wrote:

“It is with great sadness that the family of composer John Barry announce his passing on the 30th of January 2011 in New York.”